Brazil’s international image tends to be heavily impacted by the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira in Vale do Javari, in the Amazon.
The case increased the country’s visibility abroad, leading to the publication of more news about it in foreign media, and projected a seriously negative reputation for the national reality – with problems of violence, impunity, disrespect for human rights and the federal government’s disregard for the protection of the forest, indigenous peoples and journalists.
In total, the collection of information from the The International Interest Index, created by the National Interest portal, found in this second week of June 81 articles with prominent mentions of Brazil in the seven foreign press vehicles analyzed. This is the largest amount recorded since the beginning of the collection and analysis of the index, in April 2022. In addition, it is a 33% higher volume of mentions than those found in the two weeks of greater international visibility until then, when they had been found 61 mentions of the country in the vehicles studied.
In addition to the increased visibility of Brazil, the week also recorded the highest proportion of reports with a negative tone about the country. In total, 55% of all texts had value judgments with the potential to affect and worsen the Brazilian reputation abroad.
The high visibility of the British journalist’s disappearance recalls the negative image that was projected abroad when the American missionary Dorothy Stang was murdered in the Amazon. On that occasion, in 2005, the image of the Northern region of Brazil and forests as a land without law and security was reinforced throughout the world.
This image was repeated in the descriptions found last week, with greater accountability on the part of the Brazilian government, accused of reducing efforts to protect forests, indigenous peoples and the populations that defend the Amazon.
Among the seven foreign press vehicles analyzed by the International Interest Index (iii-Brazil), only China Daily ignored news about the disappearance of the journalist and the indigenist in the Amazon. In the other six vehicles, 34 reports about the disappearance were recorded, equivalent to 42% of the total mentions of Brazil in the period.
The most intense coverage of the case in the international press was in the British newspaper The Guardian, for which Phillips wrote regularly. Over the course of the week, the newspaper published a total of 20 articles about the disappearance and the search for the two — all reports with a really negative emphasis on Brazil.
As early as Wednesday, when there were apparently still hopes of finding Phillips and Pereira alive, the Guardian published an editorial urging Brazilian authorities to intensify the search. “The response of the Brazilian authorities has been, at best, slow and below expectations,” he said.
The text directed criticism directly at the government. “Unfortunately, President Jair Bolsonaro has shown little interest in an adequate response. Worse still, having taken two days to address the disappearance, he seemed to blame the disappeared,” he added.
In addition to the editorial Guardian was also one of the first international newspapers to publish a manifesto by editors of some of the most important foreign publications demanding a greater effort from the Brazilian government in the search for the missing.
The critical stance towards Brazil also appeared in an article by an international correspondent in Brazil. Lucy Jordan published a text claiming that Phillips and Pereira’s disappearance should make everyone “incandescent with rage”. “This is the logical consequence of three years of encouraging violence against indigenous populations and journalists,” she said, blaming the Bolsonaro government.
The paper also ran a lengthy story about the region where the disappearance took place, describing the area in the Amazon as “a lawless zone where criminals act with impunity.”
In the same editorial on the disappearance of the two men, the Frenchman Le Monde reports that Funai told the AFP news agency that it is collaborating with local authorities in the search. The New York Times, on the other hand, states that British journalist and indigenous specialist are missing in the Amazon after threats. The Spaniard El País visually describes the event with images when he entitles one of the texts: “The search for the journalist and indigenist who disappeared in the Amazon, in photos”.
In addition to the higher proportion of news being clearly harmful about Brazil, the week also recorded the lowest percentage of positive mentions about Brazil. Only 5 of the 81 reports collected during the week (the equivalent of 6%) had the potential to improve Brazil’s international image.
As in previous analyses, these positive mentions mostly concerned beaches and paradisiacal places with tourism potential in the country, as in reports published by the Portuguese newspaper Público.
